John Fogerty
How often do you visit a site where John Fogerty is quoted?

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Let’s talk a moment about the elegance of writing. We writers are communicators. I heard once that we are the storytellers of our generation, and I believe that to be true. I want to put in a word about practicing elegance when you are writing.

There is a beauty in words when they are used perfectly. It really is quite remarkable what we are capable of saying with a few simple nouns and verbs, mixing and matching, tossing in and tossing out. It would be a shame, wouldn’t it, if we did not do our best to find all of the elegance we could with those words?

Metaphors….similes….themes…..voice….tone….we have so much to use as our tools.

Don’t shortchange your readers. Give them your best. They deserve it. Make each of your writings elegant, and at the end of the day you can step back, look at your words, and smile.

TIP OF THE DAY

Try a new approach to your writing this week. Even if it is just one article, or one flash fiction exercise, try writing in a different point of view, or toss in a metaphor you have never used….something that stretches you as a writer.

SUCCESS OF THE DAY

A shout out to my dear friend Sha, who shared the following with me on last week’s blog:

“I’ve been fortunate this week to have change come to me. I had just purchased a course on how to double your freelance earnings. This was Tuesday. No sooner had I downloaded the program (which I’ve yet to look at and now don’t have the time) that I was sent a short assignment writing meta descriptions. Later that day I heard from an author in need of an editor who was referred to me. Then I heard back from CopyPress who had sent me a couple of (paid) test assignments for Rocky Top Log Furniture. They also have a DIY reality show on DIY Channel and American Country Channel, called Logheads. They loved my copy and now I have 29 product descriptions to write for their website. Whoo hoo!

On top of that, the author has accepted my rates and I’m in the process of drawing up the contract.

These times they are a changin’! Finally!!”

Hooray to Sha! Perseverance and hard work led to that success. She never gave up and finally good things are coming to her. That, my friends, is human elegance.

PROMPT OF THE DAY

A picture prompt today. What does this picture say to you? Could you write 100 words on it for a little warm-up exercise? Well then do it!

WRITER OF THE DAY

I’m going to give another shout out, but this time to a new writer who just started following me on HubPages. I’m all about community among writers, and helping one another out, so I’m asking you to show some support for this writer. Comment on her work and tell her how you heard about her. Let her know that this community idea works if you work it. Say hello to Iris Draak from Boise, Idaho. You can find her here.

I was out of commission until about 2:30 this afternoon. I had one article left yesterday to complete my 29 PD assignment (Rocky Top Log Furniture) and came across (another) duplicate for which I had to be sent a new link. Unfortunately, my project manager was off yesterday. Fortunately, I was sent the alternative link after I resolved my Google problems, so I still met my deadline date, just not the deadline time.

Needless to say, I’m a tad burned out. I’ll be back to check out the links you’ve provided. I briefly checked out Iris and she seems to be someone I’d like to get to know.

Have a good evening. I hope your computer issues have been resolved and the stress level has been reduced.

Hi Dear Friend Billy Buc…a hectic day, just taking a minute to get online…one of those days, LOL…stepped in dog poop on the way to taking our mischievous cat to the vet…but this too shall pass…my shoe has been disinfected, run thru the machine – scalding hot water, Clorox, lots of detergent…drying like new on the deck. LOVE your format…and huge congrats to Sha…don’t know if I have mentioned your background here of the hills, grass, trees…I know it is not your property…don’t see any quails and I know you do not like lawns lol 🙂 Thank you for wonderful advice as always. So good to sit down and read a “billy buc” write…as you share what you know, we grow! God bless always, Sparklea 🙂

Lea my friend, thank you! I’m sorry but I was laughing over the dog poop incident. Not a day goes by that I don’t step in some sort of poop in our backyard. You would think I would be smart enough to wear rubber boots, or at least be careful where I put my foot, but oh no! Every single day! LOL

Well this was a fun jam-packed article today! 😉 I just wrote a long 1000-word article on my personal site today and feel elevated, LOL! Writing 100-word articles on losing weight and fitness, and then up to 300-word only posts on health and wellness get a little boooooooring. Hope you’re having a great day that side… we’re having a real winter’s day and rain and snow on the mountains. Hopefully the last before spring. Have a good one!